Texarkana, TX Tax Day Tea Party Protest

I am a mother of four children. I care about my country. I love God. I am a very passionate person and I put everything I have into everything I do. I am 32 years old and I cast the first vote in my life in the 2008 election. Can you tell that I'm proud of the former descriptives, but not of the latter? I never took the time to vote prior to this because it really didn't seem to matter. I'm a Texan, and we not only bleed red here, but we vote red too. I have always tended to agree more with the Republican candidates of the past than I have with the Democrats. What's more, it isn't as if any of them have really ever stayed true to who they claimed to be when they were running anyway. I felt that it was kind of senseless to take my time to go down to the polls to cast a ballot when the candidate I was rooting for (in TX) would win the state even without my vote. Ladies and gentlemen, that's what you call ignorance. I was ignorant to the fact that the entire reason we are in this political state is that level of ignorance from so many constituents. We do not hold our politicians accountable. Look at the recently passed Fried Bacon, I mean Stimulus Bill. They passed the bill, in a hurry like something I've never seen. And remember I'm a mother 4 and as such have had many rushed visits to the Emergency Room. No, these guys claimed that there was not a moment to spare, not even one to read the thing. Pass, then read, pass then read. I'm sorry but when I think of people sitting in an office somewhere signing their names to documents that supposedly represent my views, it is not ok for them not to have read the document first. Think about it; they might as well be signing my name or your name on the dotted line. So now you know that I've never been politically involved before now. Better late than never, right? If you listen to the MSM and the Democratic leadership, it is not better late than never. Instead, we've got phony rage built on "Astro-turf", as Nancy Pelosi called it. "...we call call it astroturf, it's not really a grassroots movement. It's astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class." Nancy Pelosi, on being asked about the grassroots Tax Day Tea Party Protests. I would completely dismiss Nancy Pelosi's comment if I didn't think she knew a thing or two about Astro-turf. I seem to recall her claiming to be an ardent, practicing Catholic, and essentially arguing with Catholic Bishops regarding when the Catholic church believes life begins and a woman's "right" to an abortion. So by her own definition, her own Catholic faith is not really "faith," it's what we call "Astro-turf." To further use her verbiage, it's astroturf by supposed religious individuals to keep the focus on "rights" instead of addressing the issue at hand...which is that she supports the murder of tiny babies in the comfort of their mothers' wombs. Alright, we've gotten that out of the way, now on to the party...The Tea Party, that is!
I was one of the organizers for Texarkana’s Tax Day Tea Party. I registered voters for the event on behalf of Smart Girl Politics. I was somewhat nervous about what our attendance would be. I had never been to a rally before, so I was afraid we would be expecting 500 and 12 people would show up. As a mother of 4, I am constantly running late. We planned to arrive early, and we were about 10 minutes early, so that’s doing great! The event was PACKED! I couldn’t get to my voter registration table because we were elbow to elbow, out in the streets. I think that I ended up changing 4 voters’ addresses, and other than that, thankfully everyone else was already a registered voter! I can’t describe the looks on the faces of everyone who was there. Think of the feeling you get when you hear Lee Greenwood sing, “God Bless the USA.” Who doesn’t get goosebumps when you hear it? Looking at their faces, and the sheer pride in their cause was like that. I was one of the speakers, so I’ll include my speech below. Be kind, remember, it was my first rally, and most definitely my first speech. The words in red are what was said before the recording began.

Hi Everyone! You’ll have to excuse me…I’m just a mother of 4 and a wife…I don’t get a teleprompter so I’m going to use my notes.

I voted for the first time in my 32 years this past federal election. I have gone through years of thinking that no one really governed by my values anyway, so my voice didn’t count. I didn’t bother to get out and vote before now. I heard Sarah Palin speak and she struck something in me. Here was a woman who shared my conservative values and she wasn’t apologizing for them or trying to hide them. Many people loved her for that…and many people hated her for them and still do. And that’s ok. The problem comes when our politicians promise to share our common goals and then get into office and have a change of heart.

I’ve debated time and time again with my liberal friends and acquaintances and they always seem to have the same answers for me. They tell me, “That’s just how it is in Washington.” “That’s just how politics works.” They say, “Of course they’re going to make campaign promises that they never intend to keep-that’s just part of the process.” And my favorite response was when someone told me, “we have to look at the candidates and vote for the person we think will do the least amount of damage.” When I have these conversations I am reminded that politics only works that way because WE THE PEOPLE have allowed it. We, like my liberal friends, see that our elected officials-Democrat AND Republican-are not living up to what we elected them to do. They scheme to get their earmarks added onto every bill. They spend ungodly amounts of our money and they don’t even bother to READ THE FINE PRINT! How many times have you heard that phrase? Read the fine print? If we sign a contract as citizens, we’d better be darn sure we read every line of it because we are agreeing to pay our hard earned money. But when it is a politician signing on the dotted line, it isn’t his or her personal funds, so they take a very nonchalant stance about it. Everyone assumes that SOMEBODY read it, and that WHOEVER that person is, THEY wouldn’t be pushing for it, if it wasn’t good for the American people.

We have to stop thinking like this and we have to hold our politicians to a higher standard. They haven’t changed thus far because we haven’t made them. We have quietly grumbled in our own homes or to our small circle of friends. How well has that been working for us? If you are here, you are likely fed up with the direction our government is trying to drag our country. Quietly venting to your friends and family does nothing but blow off a little steam. If we want to make real changes, we are going to have to do it at the polls-from the bottom up! Vote with your values and ideals, and tell everyone who you see, the direction you want YOUR country to move.

Some of you may not be currently registered to vote. Some of you may have moved recently and need to update your voter registration. On behalf of Smart Girl Politics, we are conducting a voter registration drive tonight. If you would like to register, please see me before you leave. If you have a friend or relative who needs to register but isn’t present, please take them home a registration form. Don’t put it off like I did. If we aren’t out there making our voices heard, we have no right to complain! Remember these words by the beloved Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysburg Address “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth..” NEVER did President Lincoln say that government should be ABOVE the people. Take those words to heart…make sure your voice is heard…send the message that WE THE PEOPLE “shall not perish from the earth” and LET - FREEDOM - RING!!!

People keep asking: What’s next? Well, my answer is simple. Do not stop! Do not shrink into the shadows, and do not forget about the voice that you found! There is a very good reason the MSM and the administration tried, and still tries to minimize what we have done. They are hoping that if we feel slighted, we’ll just go away and they can go on with “business as usual.” My theme song from now until the end of time for the Conservative movement is, “We’re Not Gonna Take It!” We may have been the usual conservative crowd, quietly minding our manners and trying not to ruffle feathers, in the past. But those days are gone, and we’re not gonna take it anymore!